Aranu (Splinters Alternate Universe)
Aranu (or The Karhi as his title would become) is a legendary Toa often told of in Cartraxian folklore. His main feature was that he was a Toa with no destiny. The Legend The Chronicles of Fa According to the Chronicles of Fa, Aranu started off as a Av-Matoran who was destined by the Great Spirit to become a Toa of Light. Aranu was led to a strange cave with a Po-Matoran friend, where he found a Great Mask infused with the power of a Toa Stone. Deciding to put it on (since Mata Nui said it was his destiny), he became a Toa of Light and decided to deal with the Dracon menace that plagued the Matoran of Two Towers. During the Battle of Tall Towers, Aranu arrived on the island in order to eliminate the Dracon menace that was plaguing the Matoran universe. He succeeded in conquering their chief, Braka-Quarix, and evidently had him massacre the rest of his kin since Aranu took him into bondage. Aranu eventually released him afterwords, but kept him chained up around the neck. In the epic poem, Unity, Duty, Destiny, Aranu, as a Toa, suffered a grave defeat after facing the Barraki named Kalmah. After this defeat, he found himself on Draxia, where a small Matoran Civil War had taken place. Seeking to end this conflict to regain his dignity, he was sent by the Turaga of the island to find a creature for him an the Matoran to defeat. As such, he travelled to the Southern Islands, where he was stopped by a guardian named Vahlkii. After a long talk, he proclaimed that he sought to fight the guardian for his own glory. A short duel occured, where he defeated the guardian using his powers over light to blind the guardian permanently. The guardian finally heard what Aranu sought to do, and decided to help him resolve the conflict with the Matoran. As such, with Vahlkii posing as a monster, Aranu and the Matoran "defeated" him. Aranu proclaimed that the Matoran were to understand unity. The Turaga offered for him to stay on Draxia, since he "fulfilled his destiny", but Aranu told them off. He told the Turaga it was their job to lead the Matoran through wisdom, and then disappeared from them, to go on further adventures. Later on, in the story To Have No Destiny, Aranu appears to be dissatisfied with Mata Nui's plans for him, wishing to make his own destiny. Through advice from Vahlkii, Aranu set out on a quest to find the Mask of Destinies. He collected map pieces from the island of Destral, where he managed to defeat Makuta in a duel. He then was led to Karzahni, surviving the mad titan's nightmare, and got the second piece of the map. Finally, he was led to Xia, where he climbed The Mountain and gained the last map piece. Travelling into the Southern Islands, he finally came to a Great Being known as Viluu, who gave Aranu the mask he requested. He warned, however, that it was cursed, but willingly gave it out of curiosity of what Aranu would do with it. Aranu, now becoming a being known as Karhi, saw his Toa Star vanish from the sky. He no longer had destiny. This forced him to become an aimless wanderer throughout the Southern Islands. In his travels he came across Flagra and dueled her. Then, denouncing his destiny, the two parted ways. In a final struggle, the voice of Mata Nui came to Aranu as he suffered in the Southern Islands. Mata Nui scolded him for his choices and had no pity on him, while Aranu mocked the Great Spirit for the lack of compassion. Aranu was left to suffer, his fate ultimately unknown. Abilities and Traits When he was just a simple Toa of Light, Aranu only had access to the skill of his Toa Tool (which was a light rod), the power of his Mask of Shielding, and his manipulation of light. He gained enough skill in these things to become a formidable foe. Later, when he received the Mask of Destiny and became the Karhi, Aranu discovered that he became a creature that was completely unpredictable to his foes. He was able to withstand many different mask power influences, such as the Mask of Truth and the Mask of Shadows. However, he also became a target to many different species, and his life was constantly on edge because of his position. Aranu, personality wise, was often considered to be arrogant and could only see things from his perspective. He always had to be right; and often he was. He showed little fear, but exerted caution when he knew he was not strong enough to face a foe. Later, as the Karhi, he began to lose the ability to fear and let his cockiness control him outright. Status Appearances * The Chronicles of Fa Notes *Though the idea of Aranu being a legendary hero was established between BIONICLEToa and his brother, Kylerak, since the character's conception, the way he was portrayed seemed largely inconsistent. He was either a hero, or secretly a villain. BIONICLEToa settled on him being a haughty warrior instead, who often did things that were questionable in nature. Category:Toa Category:Matoran